In speech, President Obama sharply criticizes North Korea

SEOUL - In a Veterans Day speech delivered just miles from the demilitarized zone, President Obama sharply criticized North Korea for its pursuit of nuclear weapons and said Pyongyang still has the opportunity to fulfill its international obligations.

"Today, the Korean peninsula provides the world’s clearest contrast between a society that is open and a society that is closed; between a nation that is dynamic and growing, and a government that would rather starve its people than change," Obama said. "It’s a contrast so stark you can see it from space, as the brilliant lights of Seoul give way to the utter darkness in the north."

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VIDEO: POTUS slams N. Korea

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The distinction, Obama said, is "not an accident of history."

"This is a direct result of the path that has been taken by North Korea – a path of confrontation and provocation, one that includes the pursuit of nuclear weapons and the attack on the Cheonan last March," he said, referring to a North Korean submarine that torpedoed and sank a South Korean navy ship. "And in the wake of this aggression, Pyongyang should not be mistaken: the United States will never waver in our commitment to the security of the Republic of Korea. We will not waver. The alliance between our two nations has never been stronger, and along with the rest of the world, we've made it clear that North Korea’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons will only lead to more isolation and less security for them."

"There is another path available to North Korea," Obama continued. "If they choose to fulfill their international obligations and commitments to the international community, they will have the chance to offer their people lives of growing opportunity instead of crushing poverty – a future of greater security and greater respect, a future that includes the prosperity and opportunity available to citizens on this end of the Korean peninsula."

Obama's remarks came a couple of hours before a scheduled meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.

He speaks of North Korea in the same way he speaks of Isreal. The difference he only "talks" about NK, while he actively arms the Palestineans with U.S. taxpayer dollars, because Isreal wants to build housing in what was their capital for thousands of years, before there was a moslem..

Not an Obama fan, by any stretch of the imagination; but, a good speech. He needs to back up the rhetoric with action (as he should on many issues). I would like to see the same forceful commitment to Israel, and our other allies. Also. a good JFK "fighting speech" directed at the Ayatollahs would be appropriate. Diplomacy and sanctions have failed to hinder Iran's nuclear ambitions and Iran is more dangerous than North Korea. Israel, and the rest of the world community are looking to America for leadership on this most serious issue. Quit stalling and act. Even the Saudis have given permission to fly through their airspace if it concerns the destruction of Iran's nuclear program.

Like they're really afraid of anything Obama might do? He's shown that he's never go to do anything to North Korea. That rumbling that was detected in Asia was not an earthquake or a NK test. It was the entire North Korean population laughing at Obama at the same time.

President Barry................Why the hard tact with North Korea, and yet Iran goes about their merry way, inching toward nuclear weaponry that will endanger Israel and the entire middle east ? If you substitute Iran for North Korea in your speech, I would have some respect for you, but for some reason, you don't have the same passion for protecting our Israeli friends/allies...............hmm, wonder why ? Arming the Palestinians, and threatening North Korea...man, you just gotta love this country.

Sure, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnston, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush were all had N. Korea under their thumb but Obama was in South Korea for two days wasn't able to reunify the country. What a terrible president.